Week In Review March 3rd

Backcountry legislation, horizontal rocker, and new hut systems

Tobias Huber, George Stuckler, and Sven Rauber get into some tasty backcountry freestyle around Tyrol, where are there are no less than 70 ski areas most of them interconnected,. Sucks for you if you’re too xenophobic to take a ski trip to Europe!

The Surface LABs, which rocker horizontally across the base of the ski, came to POWDER Week for the second time this year. Turns out these things are not just designed for skiing nipple-deep powder, but also for doing future spins on the ground, 360 butters, and taking off and landing sideways. #ProgressionThe Guatemalan Persuader

Before skiers made videos talking about progression and how stoked they are to ride with their friends, they made videos with copious vomit, stomach-wrenching crashes, and terrible songs with sexual lyrics. You know, when “freeskiing” was free and Glen Plake…well, you’ll see.A Quarterpipe, You Say?

PBS Newshour featured a segment this week focusing on the impacts of climate change on the ski industry in the US, pointing to the potential for $800 million in lost revenue. While the reaction to climate reporting with a focus on the ski industry has gotten a mixed response in the national media (many people seem to think there’s more important things at stake than skiing), it does seem somewhat trivial to get our feather ruffled because rental shops are having to hire more techs to repair skis that get bashed on rocks during low snow years.

Spearhead Huts Project

The Canadians are proposing to build a three-stop backcountry hut system off the back of Whistler Blackcomb. About 4,000 people each year already make the 35 kilometer Spearhead Traverse from the back of Blackcomb out around Fitzsimmosn Creek and back into Whistler, but they’re currently relying on only one tiny shelter along the 3-day route. The Spearhead Huts Project would build three new eco-friendly alpine huts able to house 35-40 a piece, which would make it way easier for backcountry skiers to take their time to ski the numerous stellar options in Garibaldi Provincial Park.

No Fine For Backcountry Recklessness in Vermont

After only a week spent considering a proposed bill that would fine skiers and riders $500 if they get lost skiing out of bounds in Vermont ski areas and require rescue, the state senate decided to shelve the bill. The measure was proposed in response to the ridiculous number of backcountry rescues needed this winter, especially at Killington, where 40 people got lost in the woods over one Christmas weekend. “If we start criminalizing what we all think is dumb, we’d have an endless avalanche of legislation,” said one senator.